Chris Weidman
Chris Weidman is the former UFC middleweight champion. Debut and Road to the Title He most recently made his UFC debut replacing an injured Rafael Natal on two weeks' notice against veteran Alessio Sakara. He defeated Sakara via a dominant and bloody unanimous decision. He next replaced an injured Court McGee against fellow prospect Jesse Bongfeldt. He defeated Bongfeldt via standing guillotine choke in the closing seconds of the first round. He next faced veteran Tom Lawlor, choking Lawlor unconscious two minutes into the fight with a simply beautiful D'arce choke submission. Weidman next stepped in on relatively short notice to replace Michael Bisping against fellow seasoned grappler Demian Maia. Weidman defeated Maia via a close but impressive unanimous decision. Weidman next faced veteran Mark Munoz, knocking Munoz out impressively in the second round before calling out UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Weidman was next set to face Tim Boetsch in December 2012 before being injured and replaced by Constantinos Philippou. After recovering, in February 2013 Weidman received the fight he wanted: a title shot against champion Anderson Silva in the summer of 2013. UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre was quoted in May 2013 as saying that he was sure Weidman would beat Silva. Winning the Title Weidman knocked Silva out in the second round to take the middleweight championship and breaking Silva's undefeated phenomenal streak. The pair was scheduled for an immediate rematch in December 2013 before Silva was injured in August 2013. Possible replacements included former title contenders Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. Instead Weidman did end up rematching Silva in December 2013. Weidman once again dominated the fight's first round and Silva came out as he did in their first fight's second stanza: desperate and looking to make something happen. He started trying to work in some leg kicks which had shown promise in the first fight. Weidman had been obviously training to defend them as he checked one of the powerful kicks and shattered Silva's left shin in two places in a stunning and tragic injury. The injury ended the fight and more than likely it also ended Silva's career. Defending the Title: Post-Silva Weidman next signed to defend his title against former UFC light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. Belfort unfortunately pulled out of the fight (which would have taken place in Las Vegas) after the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned (T)estosterone ®eplacement (T)herapy which Belfort had relied on for the past year and a half or more of his career. Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida stepped in to replace Belfort. Weidman defeated Machida via unanimous decision in a gritty, memorable performance. He was next set to defend his title again versus Belfort and then again and was injured both times. The fight finally did occur in spring 2015. After some early trouble with Belfort, Weidman defeated the veteran via an impressive first round TKO. Weidman next defended his title against former Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold. Rockhold unfortunately not only defeated Weidman via a bloody fourth round TKO and took his UFC middleweight championship but also handed Weidman his first loss. Fights *Chris Weidman vs. Uriah Hall - The fight was for the Ring of Combat middleweight title. *Chris Weidman vs. Alessio Sakara - The fight was the UFC debut of undefeated Chris Weidman, replacing an injured Rafael Natal on a few weeks' notice. *Chris Weidman vs. Tom Lawlor *Chris Weidman vs. Demian Maia - Weidman was a replacement for Michael Bisping on less than two weeks notice. Weidman came into the fight undefeated. *Chris Weidman vs. Mark Munoz *Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort - The fight was for the UFC middleweight title with Weidman defending. *Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman - The fight was for the UFC middleweight title with Chris Weidman defending. Chris Weidman came into the fight undefeated and it was his first loss. Category:Middleweight fighters Category:UFC middleweight champions